Journal of the American Ceramic Society, Vol.101, No.4, 1677-1683, 2018
Ultralight and resilient Al2O3 nanotube aerogels with low thermal conductivity
This report describes a novel method to produce fluffy and resilient nanotube aerogels by combining solution blow spinning and Atom Layer Deposition (ALD). Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) sponges obtained by blow spinning are used as templates and are deposited in ALD. After removal of template, semitransparent aerogels whose density can be as low as 0.68 mg/cm(3) were obtained. The product is heat-stable, with the ability to retain original shape and keep elastic after being kept at 900 degrees C for 2 hours. It is also heat-insulated, with a thermal conductivity of 0.022 W/K.m at room temperature. Additionally, when compressed to 60% of the original height for 100 cycles during in-situ mechanical test, the sponges recovered to around 80% of the original shape, further indicating excellent mechanically elasticity of the aerogel.